Elsbeth

I am a big fan of the Kings, and when the character Elsbeth was introduced in The Good Wife and reappeared in The Good Fight, she was entertaining and refreshing. She had an off-the-wall courtroom presence. When you first saw her on a case, you figured her defence was doomed to fail. But then she came up with a twist or re-interpretation of the facts that made all the difference. She was not in every episode of either series, and that kept her from becoming cloying.

But now the Kings feel that she merits a show of her own, and that is becoming too much of what was a good thing in smaller doses. The episodes are feeling repetitive, and things are not helped by portraying the crime (and the criminal) in the initial minutes. The rest of the show just becomes filler - how does this wacky person figure out what we already know?

Sorry, but this just doesn't measure up to the expectations that were created by Elsbeth's earlier (and occasional) appearances.

This show is fun,it's columbo 2.0 but with a goofier columbo. Like columbo,she immediately knew who did it in episode number one. I love the humor and goofiness of Arlene. Lol (sorry,couldn't resist) the show is refreshing and reminds me of the greats in my day. Columbo,McCloud,Hart to Hart,McMillion and Wife and so forth. Only 1/2 way through first episode and definitely hooked. I hope the writing holds up,it gets an audience and runs for a long time. It's really rare we get a show the last few years that's not trying to push some agenda on me. I will definitely be watching every episode. Give it a try.

This is supposed to be the NYPD/Police version of Ted Lasso, but the writing is lazy. It is usually exactly who you think it is, usually the way you think it is. As a New Yorker, I was surprised to find that cameras mostly do not exist. Several "cases" would be solved by looking at the camera that would normally exist in reality. Elsbeth's partner starts the show wearing a uniform from 27 Precint; then, by episode 2, she is wearing a uniform from the 11th Precint but reporting to work at the 27th Precint with Elsbeth. If you believed the show, a short circuit in one (luxury) apartment would take down the electricity in the whole building. The 27th Precinct has jurisdiction over the entire city of New York. Expect these, and many more errors of how NYC works, in this show. I want to like it ,but I keep seeing the glaring errors, knowing they should know better. It is like the show is being written by someone in a foreign land who has only seen a cartoon of NYC, and does not know how reality works. This would work better as a cartoon.

Many people here have quite rightly pointed out that the format of this show is Columbo. That's fine. I have no problem with that. I loved Columbo and I loved the Elsbeth character in The Good Wife and Good Fight. The only issue here is the length of the episodes. Columbo episodes were an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half long. This gave the rumpled detective loads of time to play cat and mouse with the murderer. Elsbeth episodes are a feeble 45 minutes, so it often feels like everything is getting wrapped up before Elsbeth has even taken her coat off and sat down. Maybe some longer episodes for the second season please.

We were all pleasantly surprised by the fresh take on the Colombo (1971) "reverse mystery" formula with Poker Face (2023), and here we have CBS's attempt at that sub-genre with mixed feelings.

For those unaware, the "reverse mystery" is not a "whodunnit" but a "howcatchem." In this format, the crime is depicted first in full view of the audience. There is no doubt "who did it." The fun them comes when the detective comes in and finds all the "little" things the killer gets wrong, and we get to watch as the "perfect crime" slowly unravels. Peter Falk as Columbo did this to great affect - with his little questions, constant "one more thing" jibes, and the reveal - that point where the killer know's the game is up - is more often than not very satisfying. Not so much here.

Now introduce Elsbeth Tascioni ( Carrie Preston ) who is well-known to those who follow the The Good Wife (2009) franchise. She's a quirky somewhat "neruodiverse" lawyer who has a special point of view of the world, and has a talent for seeing the little things.

Now Elsbeth is "on loan" to monitor the NYPD, and manages to ease her way into leading an investigation into a murdered actress. I have no love of New York or the NYPD, but I do take exception with law enforcement being depicted as out-right incompetent. There's a perfect crime scene, where the killer has covered all the bases to make the murder appear a suicide. Open and shut - where's the donuts. Only Elsbeth comes in and finds three or four completely obvious clues that suggest that the suicide might be murder. Of course, the cops are all bothered and unimpressed by her insights. "Wait in the hall," she's repeatedly told. But she's having none of it, and continues to poke-and-prod and even does a "one more thing" bit.

While I'm overall happy with this show - shot beautifully to make you believe that every day is sunny in New York (it's not) - the writing is extremely weak and it shows. No spoilers here, but - come on - the mystery is so shallow that it almost seems the killer didn't have to work so hard. The "little things" that Elsbeth notices are so obvious and in plain sight, a trained police detective would have to be completely incompetent not to notice them.

This show is almost-but-not-quite family friendly. The violence is subdued, and the killer goes (in classic Columbo fashion) with calm and grace, even asking "where did I slip up?" So, no fist fights, no car chases, no shouting matches. Only disdain for Elsbeth to go "wait in the hall."

I have overall hopes for this show that it will improve. This installment was weaker than the weakest of Columbo episodes. Here's hoping the mysteries can get deeper and the "howcatchem" can be satisfying again.